TERRITORY OF THE TRIBE OF DAN

1. DAN
2. LATRUN

The tribe of Dan descends from Dan, first son of Jacob through Bilhah, handmade of Rachel. According to Genesis 30:6, Rachel said, “god has judged me (danani  דנני ), and also heard my voice, and has given me a son”. Hence, he received the name of Dan.

When Joshua invaded Canaan and the tribes were allotted their territories, Dan received the land between the tribe of Judah on the south and Benjamin and Ephraim on the north, and stretching from the hills leading to Jerusalem in the east to the Sea on the west. Its cities included (in alphabetical order): Ayalon, Baalat, Bnei Brak, Ekron, Elon, El Tekeh, Eshtaol, Gat Rimon, Gibbeton, Ir Shemesh, Meyarkon, Rakon, Shaalabin, Timnatah, Yafo, Yehud, Yitlah, and Zorah. The Ayalon Valley was part of this territory. In the 2^nd century BCE, the Judeans established a military camp in this valley that would later become the Latrun Monastery. It was this site that became part of, what we know today, as the West Bank. During the days of Joshua, part of the tribe migrated north, fought against the land of Leshem which was in the northernmost reaches of the Jordan, and took possession of it. Thus, there was a northern tribe of Dan and the southern tribe located on the original tribal territory.

---LATRUN

In the 2^nd century BCE, Judah Maccabee established his camp here in preparation for battle with the Seleucid Greeks, who had invaded Israel/Judea and were camped at Emmaus. During the Crusader period, the German Templars established a castle on the site in 1187. Since then, Arab settlers migrated to the area and established the settlement of Imwas (Arabic for Emmaus) nearby the site and subsequently, on the site itself, naming it “al Latrun”. The settlements of Yalo and Beit Nuba were also established in the area. In December 1890, a monastery was founded at Latrun by French, German and Flemish monks of the Trappist order from Sept-Fons Abbey in France, at the request of Monseigneur Poyet of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The monks soon established a vineyard using knowledge gained in France and advice from an expert in the employ of the Carmel-Mizrahi Winery in Rishon l’Tzion under Baron de Rothschild.  

This monastic community was expelled by the Ottoman Turks during World War I and the buildings were pillaged. Construction of the present building began in 1926 and continued until 1954. Following the 1936-1939 Arab revolt, the British authorities built a number of police forts at various locations; Latrun was chosen due to its strategic significance, particularly its dominant position above the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem road. Many members of the Yishuv who had resisted British occupation were imprisoned at Latrun and the surrounding countryside.

During the War of Independence, the road from the coastal plain to Jerusalem was blocked after the British withdrew and handed the fort of Latrun over to the Arab Legion. The Arab Legionnaires used the fort to shell Israeli vehicles traveling on the road below, effectively imposing a military siege on Jerusalem. To circumvent the blocked road, a makeshift camouflaged road through the seemingly impassable mountains towards Jerusalem was constructed under the command of Mickey (David) Marcus. This bypassed the main routes overlooked by Latrun and was named the Burma Road after its emergency supply-line namesake between Kunming (China) and Lashio (Burma), improvised by the Allies in World War II. By 9 June 1948, the first supplies got through to Jerusalem, putting an end to the month old Arab blockade. In the 1949 ceasefire agreement, the fort remained a salient under Jordanian control, which was in turn surrounded by a perimeter of no man's land. In addition, Jordan was not to disrupt Israeli travelers using this road; in practice, however, constant sniper attacks led Israel to build a bypass road around the bulge. After the cessation of hostilities, the Arab residents of Latrun were evacuated to Imwas. In the Six-Day War in 1967, Latrun was captured by the Israeli Defense Forces, and in order for the main road to Jerusalem to be re-opened and made safe for travel, the hostile villages of Imwas, Yalo and Beit Nuba were razed. In 1984, Canada Park was established in the area.

Shortly after War, the Latrun Monastery allowed two communities to be established on their land: Neve Shalom -Wahat as-Salam and the Jesus-Brudershaft. Today, they are supposed to be experiments in Jewish-Arab coexistence.